For some network applications based on the Internet, when a user uses a network application, the user needs to form one user group with another user. For example, the network application is a gomoku game, a Dou Dizhu game, and the like. Each user in the user group has a processing right of processing network data included in the network application, and a remaining processing time of processing network data of each user is displayed on each user terminal. To ensure consistency of time displayed on each user terminal, the time displayed on each user terminal needs to be synchronized.
For the gomoku game, when a first user and a second user form one user group to play the game, a server separately delivers a processing time to a first user terminal and a second user terminal. By using the first user as an example, when it is the first user's turn to play, the first user terminal counts down the processing time delivered by the server, stops countdown of the processing time when the first user terminal receives a stone placed by the first user to obtain a remaining processing time of the first user, and sends, to the server, position information of a position where the stone is located in a board and the remaining processing time. The server sends, to the second user terminal, the position information and the remaining processing time sent by the first user terminal, so that the second user terminal displays the remaining processing time, and displays, in the board according to the position information, the stone placed by the first user.
A user sometimes may use a mobile phone to run the network application, and because a network of the mobile phone is unstable, often the network application may be disconnected. If the first user is suddenly disconnected during processing of network data, when the first user logs in to the network application again, if it is the first user's turn to process network data, the first user terminal starts countdown from a remaining processing time recorded at last time before the first user terminal is disconnected. Because a certain amount of time is required for disconnection and login again, the remaining processing time of the first user then displayed in the terminal may be unequal to an actual remaining processing time, resulting in an error occurring in time displayed by the terminal.